Zalman launches Reserator 3 Max nanoliquid cooler

Zalman has officially announced the latest entry in its reserator family of liquid coolers, the Reserator 3 Max, with a bold claim: that it has created the first commercial CPU cooler to feature nanofluidic technology.

First teased late last year ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show in January, the Reserator 3 is a distinct departure from the large passively-cooled reservoir-cum-radiator of the original Reserator. Designed as an all-in-one system, the Reserator 3 joins a rounded waterblock with integrated pump to a small radiator with integrated fan - all finished with glowing blue LEDs.

According to Zalman, the system achieves cooling of loads up to 400W - though at what delta-T it is not willing to say, nor how you're supposed to feed it 400W of heat through a single CPU waterblock - through the use of a dual pure-copper radial radiator design. This layout, coupled with a rounded shape to the radiator which eliminates cooling dead-zones and room for an optional second 120mm fan, only accounts for part of the Reserator 3's cooling potential - with the rest powered by what Zalman claims is the world's first commercialised example of nanofluid cooling.

While Zalman is being quiet on exactly how the technology works, it claims to have added particles smaller than 100 nanometres to the fluid in the sealed-loop cooler. These, Zalman claims, improve the thermal conductivity of the liquid - although, again, beyond claims of nanotechnology it isn't talking specifics.

The waterblock, meanwhile, uses a micro-fin layout to speed heat transfer to the coolant with a total of 125 0.19mm fins sticking up into the flow of liquid. An integrated high-performance pump can shove said liquid through the system at a claimed 90 litres per hour flow rate.

The Reserator 3 Max's radiator measures 120mm x 145mm x 79mm, while the waterblock measures 70mm x 85mm x 37mm with the total kit coming in at 897g. Zalman claims the cooler offers a noise level of between 18.9 and 36.7dBa, depending on how fast the PWM-controlled fan is spinning. The kit includes mounts for all current Intel and AMD socket types, and comes with 1g of ZM-STG2M thermal grease.

While the Reserator 3 has yet to hit the mainstream markt in the UK, smaller sellers are already taking orders priced at £99.95 - a considerable premium over Zalman's existing family of all-in-one liquid coolers.

If you're curious as to the Reserator 3 Max's overall design, a small teaser video is provided below.

Isn't Ice Dragon also a nanofluid coolant? Actually, aren't all the Mayhem's pastel range nanofluids given hown they have nanoparticles in them?

This certainly sounds interesting though. If anything the CLC market feels a little stale right now, this seems like quite a fresh take on things. It'll be good to see if this cooler can walk it's talk.

Originally Posted by lacunaMy original Reserator still works fine and I haven't opened it for about 6 years now

I sold my Res1 V2 (without any of the original accessories other than the quick-release couplings and flow meter) for a ton on eBay earlier this year. I can't believe how well it held its value, and that was five times what I paid for it in the first place!

Originally Posted by mayhemYes all Mayhems pastel range are nano fluids and were working on new nano fluids as well. There is a lot going on behind the scenes that people don't know about :).

Not sure this can be answered without giving away trade secrets, but does the pastel range make use of nanoparticles for better thermal conductivity or other reasons ? Because i read claims of anything from a 5% to 300% increase in thermal conductivity from using nano fluids, so understandably im a little skeptical. but hopefully so :)

While Zalman is being quiet on exactly how the technology works, it claims to have added particles smaller than 100 nanometres to the fluid in the sealed-loop cooler. These, Zalman claims, improve the thermal conductivity of the liquid - although, again, beyond claims of nanotechnology it isn't talking specifics.

That howling sound you can hear in the background is the Bullshit Alarm Klaxon.

IDK nano-fluids are still very much under research afaik. There is no doubt they do improve thermal conductivity but by how much and under what conditions remains a much debated topic.
There is a lot to take into account with nano-fluids, everything from the design of the system used, to the size and shape of the nano-particles.

I expect nano-particles simply work to break boundary layers, I can't see them doing much else that could be useful.

Back on the cooler though, it's a nice design but I won't buy it. same reason I avoid most Zalman coolers; the proprietary fan. When that fails (and it will) I want to be able to replace it without modding or phoning product support. I don't see any reason for them not to support a standard 120mm fan fitting for the intake side.

Hardly, Nano-fluids have been proven to improve thermal conductivity (among other things) But as we have only been able to produce them in the last five years there is still lots of research going on.
If you are bored Advances in Mechanical Engineering has an article on the Applications of Nanofluids: Current and Future from 2009 that details some of the uses and advantages of using Nano-fluids things like Cancer Theraupetics, Cooling of Microchips, Nanofluid in Fuel, and Nuclear Reactors, to name just a few.

Originally Posted by lacunaMy original Reserator still works fine and I haven't opened it for about 6 years now

I sold my Res1 V2 (without any of the original accessories other than the quick-release couplings and flow meter) for a ton on eBay earlier this year. I can't believe how well it held its value, and that was five times what I paid for it in the first place!

Mine is cooling a 3.4ghz P4 and an old AGP 7950GT with no issues. I expect it will be fine with most current stuff and has the added benefit of being able to warm your toes on it if its under the desk!

Many years ago when I was doing weird stuff (not porn related) like using a car radiator with 12 inch fan on my water rig. At a certain point I had an Alu radiator. Over time the water became more and more contaminated with metallic sludge. The sludge was dark silvery grey in color. After a year or two of having this sludge circulate my water loop, I decided to clean it all out and use fresh new water instead. I was expecting my temps to drop with the new water circulating but instead the temps were worse. So it seems the sludge was thermally conductive and helping remove heat more effectively.